Philip Lawrence: Remembering my murdered head teacher

Edward Adoo (left) with his head teacher Philip Lawrence (right) and RE teacher Ed Conway (centre)

On a cold December day 25 years ago, headmaster Philip Lawrence was stabbed outside his school in north-west London as he tried to protect one of his pupils who was being attacked by a gang.

BBC Radio presenter Edward Adoo was a pupil at the time and has been speaking to his former classmates, teachers and Mr Lawrence's widow about what happened that day.

Philip Lawrence was a massive presence in my life. It was he who gave me my very first break in broadcasting when, against the advice of other teachers, he let me start a school radio station.

Calling it a radio station might be stretching it a bit, as we basically just used to play songs off a cassette tape through the school public address system, but it meant the world to me and I really don't think I would be a broadcaster now if it weren't for him.

I had moved to St George's Roman Catholic School in Maida Vale when I was 13 because I didn't like my previous school and I chose it mostly because my best mate Peter said it had a good vibe.

It was there where I first encountered Mr Lawrence, a strict but approachable head who was utterly committed to his job, his staff and the kids in his school.

Mr Lawrence was head teacher at St George's Roman Catholic School in Maida Vale

My old religious education teacher Ed Conway had been at the school for a couple of years when Mr Lawrence joined the staff and witnessed the immediate impact he had.

"It was a tough school... When I started there in 1990, the exam results were 4% five A-Cs, so it was an incredibly poor-performing school.

"He immediately made lots of changes in terms of the curriculum, in terms of putting emphasis on teaching and learning. He really got to grips with the climate and culture of the school, so discipline was a significant issue before Philip arrived and he really did get to work on that.

"He was also quite quirky. I'd never seen anybody in St George's wear a bow tie before."

The head teacher was well known among his pupils and staff for his bow ties

I remember Mr Lawrence's quirkiness. You would see him walking around the school with his flamboyant bow ties and hair, and there were times when I recall hearing these Gregorian chants being played over the public address system.

"I thought he was a character," Suja Thomas, who was a fellow pupil, explains. "The first time I saw him was in the library and he had his bow tie on. He seemed really approachable and friendly but quite tough and just seemed like a good presence in the school."

Security and pupil safety was a key part of Mr Lawrence's school policy and at the end of each day he was always outside the gates making sure everybody left safely.

But it was this concern for his pupils that ultimately cost him his life. On 8 December 1995, Mr Lawrence was stabbed in the heart as he tried to intervene in a fight between a 13-year-old from St George's and a gang of teenage youths.

Learco Chindamo was aged 15 when he was convicted of Mr Lawrence's murder

Suja Thomas had just been leaving for the day when it happened.

"As we got out of the gate, we saw a lot of kids coming towards us and that was really unusual. And we saw our friend and he was holding Mr Lawrence, and Mr Lawrence was staggering, he had blood on his whole shirt," she said.

The 48-year-old headteacher made it back into the building where paramedics performed open heart surgery on him but he died later in hospital.

The killing made headlines and led to a new law banning the sale of knives to anyone under 16. It also had a massive effect on everyone at the school.

"There was a lot of shock around," Toni Barsby, who was another St George's student, said. "You all of a sudden realised that your little bubble can be burst with things that happen and the world isn't such a nice place.

"And I remember that's where you started being a bit more fearful of things. All of a sudden you're not invincible."

Mr Lawrence and his wife Frances had four children

For Mr Lawrence's widow Frances, the events that day have been "like a continuously scrolling film".

"I remember every detail. I remember being snuggled up with my two youngest children talking about Christmas and then there was the doorbell, the police standing there, sirens, and the race through rush hour traffic to the hospital."

She describes her husband as a "charismatic, unconventional, fiercely intelligent [and] gentle" man who "absolutely loved being at St George's".

"Twenty-five years ago with one brutal act, my life and our children's lives were decimated," she said.

But she added: "However desolate I feel, however much I may harangue the gods, as it were, how can I wish on that cold December day that Philip had stood back in the shadows?

"I can't wish that, because that person would not have been Philip."

Death of a Headmaster is a documentary about Philip Lawrence that explores the legacy of his death 25 years on. It will be broadcast on BBC Radio 4 at 20:00 GMT on 8 December, or you can listen back to it online or on BBC Sounds.